Micronutrient Blood Test
Hello from quarantine. What day is it? What time is it? When is my wine delivery coming? What can I make for dinner using rice noodles, oranges, and frozen corn? When is the new Mulan being released (because I cannot watch another movie in the Air Bud franchise)?
Last week, I got to leave the house to get my monthly Lupron shot, and it was glorious! I had forgotten what it felt like to drive my car. When I arrived at Texas Oncology, a staff member took my temperature before I was allowed to enter the building.
While I was in the waiting room, I watched the office manager argue with two young women who were refusing to adhere to the limited visitors policy. He asked them to leave, and they said no. They were eating take-out on the puzzle table! I couldn't believe my eyes. Come on! This is an oncology office. People who have to come here for chemotherapy are terrified of getting sick, and you're spewing out crumbs by the little old lady in the wheelchair like it's no big deal. Go wait in your car in the parking garage! We're under a shelter-in-place order, in case you hadn't noticed. (I gave them dirty looks from six feet away.)
Speaking of chemotherapy and COVID-19, I've been working with a nutritionist who recommended I get a SpectraCell Laboratories micronutrient blood test. The test measures vitamins and minerals, amino acids, metabolism, antioxidant status, and immune function. It examines intracellular micronutrient function and is able to highlight long-term cellular deficiencies (as opposed to a single day snapshot). My nutritionist compared chemotherapy to a "bomb" that my body had to rebuild from, so he was concerned about what the test might reveal.
Fortunately it was mostly good news. My amino acids were "phenomenal" despite the fact that I rarely eat meat. My antioxidant capacity (the cells' ability to resist damage) was high, and my overall measure of immune function was also high. He said that my immune system is above average for a typical American, let alone someone who has been through chemotherapy. Yay me! I'm glad I got the test done before the world fell apart, because I feel better knowing that I'm not "high-risk" for COVID-19. I'm so proud of my white blood cells. And I should totally be a spokesperson for Daily Harvest. (Call me!)
I did discover that I have a chromium deficiency, which is messing with my glucose-insulin interaction, so I started taking a chromium supplement. I was also deficient in selenium (fixed by eating a single Brazil nut every day) and manganese (fixed by eating more nuts, oatmeal, and raw pineapple). My B12 was also low, and I already take a methylated B-complex supplement, so I'm adding a weekly dose of "Adenosyl/Hydroxy B12 for nerve and mitochondrial support." Yeah, whatever that means. (I'm also not sure why methylated B12 is so much better than cyanocobalamin because my nutritionist uses big words and talks really fast.)
Now I have to clean up the pink paint that someone tracked all over the patio and check some second-grade geometry. Isn't homeschooling fun?
Last week, I got to leave the house to get my monthly Lupron shot, and it was glorious! I had forgotten what it felt like to drive my car. When I arrived at Texas Oncology, a staff member took my temperature before I was allowed to enter the building.
While I was in the waiting room, I watched the office manager argue with two young women who were refusing to adhere to the limited visitors policy. He asked them to leave, and they said no. They were eating take-out on the puzzle table! I couldn't believe my eyes. Come on! This is an oncology office. People who have to come here for chemotherapy are terrified of getting sick, and you're spewing out crumbs by the little old lady in the wheelchair like it's no big deal. Go wait in your car in the parking garage! We're under a shelter-in-place order, in case you hadn't noticed. (I gave them dirty looks from six feet away.)
Speaking of chemotherapy and COVID-19, I've been working with a nutritionist who recommended I get a SpectraCell Laboratories micronutrient blood test. The test measures vitamins and minerals, amino acids, metabolism, antioxidant status, and immune function. It examines intracellular micronutrient function and is able to highlight long-term cellular deficiencies (as opposed to a single day snapshot). My nutritionist compared chemotherapy to a "bomb" that my body had to rebuild from, so he was concerned about what the test might reveal.
Fortunately it was mostly good news. My amino acids were "phenomenal" despite the fact that I rarely eat meat. My antioxidant capacity (the cells' ability to resist damage) was high, and my overall measure of immune function was also high. He said that my immune system is above average for a typical American, let alone someone who has been through chemotherapy. Yay me! I'm glad I got the test done before the world fell apart, because I feel better knowing that I'm not "high-risk" for COVID-19. I'm so proud of my white blood cells. And I should totally be a spokesperson for Daily Harvest. (Call me!)
I did discover that I have a chromium deficiency, which is messing with my glucose-insulin interaction, so I started taking a chromium supplement. I was also deficient in selenium (fixed by eating a single Brazil nut every day) and manganese (fixed by eating more nuts, oatmeal, and raw pineapple). My B12 was also low, and I already take a methylated B-complex supplement, so I'm adding a weekly dose of "Adenosyl/Hydroxy B12 for nerve and mitochondrial support." Yeah, whatever that means. (I'm also not sure why methylated B12 is so much better than cyanocobalamin because my nutritionist uses big words and talks really fast.)
Now I have to clean up the pink paint that someone tracked all over the patio and check some second-grade geometry. Isn't homeschooling fun?
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